climateXchange

Hi Everyone,

Today, I proudly took possesion of a Blade Electron – as I understand it this is the first commercially produced, fully electric vehicle to be registered in Canberra! wow – never thought I'd find myself doing that!

This all started when our company (Wollemi Systems) decided to buy a new car late last year (anyone who knows me will confirm that I'm not someone who drives 'new cars') and that if we were going down that lane, that I wanted us to buy an electric car…. …with a tick of approval, I set about the mission with glee…

I'm convinced that EV's will form a big part of a sustainable future, so why not vote with your feet – I thought, its time to demonstrate market demand!

To cut a long story short, today I cruised Canberra City, the Botanic Gardens, Belconnen, Mitchell and Dickson in a beautifully quiet and zero emissions vehicle – it really feels like a step into the future!

Its just a normal car (I'll post some photos) – it plugs in at home to charge over night, and can get me around 100km on a single charge – depending on where I drive and how fast I go…

I'll post more when I have a chance – but just thought I'd share the news!

Hi John,

Haydn has now placed a media release on his company's website on 8 August with photos of his Blade Electron electric car – see it here

Sounds really cool, I'm going to check out your photos. Personally, I don't think I'll be buying an electric car until I feel my current fuel efficient conventional car reaches its end of life. I've not seen the Blade Electron, but must say the photos of the Leaf make it look like an attractive innovation. I have two practical questions though. First, as a cyclist, I find it hard enough noting where cars are behind me, although I've got a good sense of hearing so rely on the noise before I turn my head to check (otherwise the bike goes in the direction I'm looking). Plus, I notice people are pretty stupid about not looking before they cross the road these days, they just simply launch themselves onto the cross walks in some stupid, blind faith everyone will stop. The silence of the electric car is a little concerning from this perspective, do you find yourself having to be extra careful to 'be noticed'? Second, I find myself feeling stressed enough with tailgating/aggressive driving in Canberra with my normal, fuel efficient car. How does it do for quick speeding up to avoid overly frustrating the hazards of other drivers?